Monterey Downs spent $86K on veterans cemetery petition campaign

The connection between a proposed Fort Ord development and a veterans cemetery petition campaign is no longer just an innuendo.

County election records show that the Monterey Downs LLC horse racing venture gave more than $86,000 for the pro-development and pro-cemetery Secure the Promise initiative — paying for its printing and for people to gather petition signatures.

The company's election documents, recently posted to the county Elections Department website in a separate category than the petition's campaign filings, show the company's attorney also was involved in an attempt to sue a rival measure.

Secure the Promise organizers say Monterey Downs' role was necessary to get the petition done in time. Backers of the opposing Fort Ord Access Alliance say they were not surprised by the disclosure.

The Secure the Promise initiative began in late April in response to the Fort Ord Access Alliance, which had been gathering signatures since early April to stop some development, including the horse racing complex, on the former Army base. Both ballot measures will be voted on in a countywide election Nov.5.

Monterey Downs, in process since 2010, would be an equestrian-themed project with a racetrack, hotels and homes. It could not be built in its current form if the Access petition wins.

Luana Conley, an Access organizer, said she wished the company would have focused its efforts on funding the cemetery instead of on a ballot measure.

"It's dividing the community over something that we all want," she said of the cemetery. "People support the veterans cemetery."

Sid Williams, secretary of the veterans council, said Monday the Monterey Downs developers obviously have an interest in the defeat of the Access initiative but it was not as if the veterans ballot measure would guarantee construction.

The pro-cemetery ballot measure "doesn't say a single thing about the approval of Monterey Downs," Williams said. "They are not getting approval of anything by virtue of our petition."

He maintained the veterans cemetery project, which would be partially financed from sale of land to Monterey Downs, required organizers to act quickly to raise funds.

"The other side started this petition drive. We had a very short period of time to get our petition prepared and circulated," Williams said. "... There was no way for us to raise that kind of money that quickly."

The Access Alliance had raised $69,472 as of June 30, according to documents submitted to the county Elections Department. The Secure the Promise group raised $15,000 in the same period (separate from petition costs).

Contributions to the Access Alliance were mostly from individuals, while Secure the Promise had three contributors — the county veterans council, Monterey Bay Retired E-9 Association and $4,380 from Monterey Downs.

Both groups spent a significant amount on paid signature gatherers.

The Access group paid $35,366 and Monterey Downs spent $64,980.

Also of note on Monterey Downs' forms was its attorney and treasurer for election filings, James Sutton.

The lawyer represented veterans council president James Bogan in an unsuccessful lawsuit against the Access Alliance in June. Sutton argued, along with another lawyer from his firm, Bradley Hertz, that the Access petition would confuse the public.

Hertz said at the time that his client was Bogan and they had not discussed payment options.

Bogan deferred comment Monday to James Scariot, who, he said, is handling campaign issues. Efforts to reach Scariot were unsuccessful.